Chapter 23 - The King Is Dead

The floor shook with the power of a thousand earthquakes. The sound of a million screams echoed all around outside as Presto looked up at the roof of the castle and put his hands over his mouth in shock, tears flowing down his eyes. Valandt stood slack jawed at what he had done. Presto eventually turned and spoke first “We have to get out of here, the castle is going to fall down”. Valandt keep staring in front of him and shook his head from side to side “No” he said “I cannot leave now” Valandt began to look around. “Astral is still here, I have to get her out safely”
“She’s on the other side of the castle, if it comes down you’ll be crushed” Presto replied
“Which is precisely why we should not waste time talking. You get out of the castle, if I die it will be no great loss to Legia” Valandt looked Presto in the eye, Presto was very reluctant to leave Valandt in the crumbling castle. “I am your king and I'm ordering you to get out, now!” Presto then solemnly nodded and made his leave. Valandt looked around, quickly planning the fastest way to Astral’s chamber then darted up a flight of stairs, getting out of the way of the hoard of guards that were making their way out. Valandt began to run along the corridors and up flights of stairs, tripping only once on a balcony. Valandt was determined to find Astral as he ran through the castle, now having to dodge the falling bricks and parts of the castle that were beginning to fall. Valandt’s heart thudded against his ribcage and adrenaline flowed around his body as he escaped death every other moment. Valandt finally reached the corridor along which Astral’s chamber was, the balcony he had to walk along was falling apart and had holes in everywhere. Valandt trod carefully along the ready to collapse balcony, he felt parts of it falling away as he stepped on them and promptly quickened his pace. The bricks and parts of the castle falling from the roof were beginning to get bigger now. Valandt had to dive out of the way of a falling piece of debris that was twice his size, landing on his stomach and winding him. Valandt ignored the pain and stumbled back to his feet, he then sprinted down the rest of the balcony and kicked the door to Astral’s chamber open. Valandt peered inside and the bed was empty, looking around the room he had barely spotted her before he had to push her out of the way of a falling chuck of debris, causing it to land on his leg. Valandt moaned with pain as his leg was caught underneath the heavy chunk of stone, his eyes immediately began to water. Astral raced to Valandt’s aid, raising the rock off his leg with her powers. Valandt winced as he saw the damage to his exposed leg, his leggings were torn apart and his leg was bleeding profusely. Wasting little time, Astral put her hands on Valandt’s leg, something which caused an adrenaline rush for Valandt of a different kind, then to his amazement, his leg began to heal. “What has happened ?” Astral said, upon Valandt regaining the ability to stand. “No time to explain fully but lets just say that I did a very stupid thing” said Valandt as he looked around frantically. “Now we have to get out of here” Valandt called, then grabbed her hand and ignored the rush he got as he touched her and took her out of the room. The castle was beginning to fall around them now, the roof barely stood and there were plenty of sizeable holes in it. Valandt withdraw in horror as he saw that the balcony which he had came across had been depleted almost completely and there was a considerable gap in it. Valandt, knowing he could jump the gap turned to Astral and went to ask her if she wanted him to carry her but she was not there, she had flew over to the other side using her powers. “Come on” she called to Valandt as he made a short run up and jumped the gap, landing on the edge of the balcony and losing his balance, then just as he was about to fall backward Astral grabbed Valandt and pulled him back up, helping him regain his balance and preventing him from falling. Valandt stopped and almost found himself being hypnotized by her amazing eyes when the decaying of the castle began to intensify. Debris now fell from all angles as Valandt and Astral ran down the corridors, Valandt holding onto her wrist tight and guiding her toward the relative safety of outside the castle. As they came down the stairs leading to the main entrance they began to fall apart underneath Astral’s feet but Valandt picked her up and ushered her out of the way of any harm. The two continued to run down into the main hall and Valandt found to his horror that someone had locked the front entrance. Valandt tried kicking the door twice as now everything around them began to crumble. Running out of time and ideas Valandt turned to Astral and grabbed her. Holding her tight and putting his arms around her, shielding her, Valandt ran at the window and jumped out of it, then shielded Astral from any of the glass. The two came then crashing down to the outside with a bump, Valandt landing on Astral. Wanting to waste no time Valandt got back to his feet “The whole castle is falling” he said to Astral and took her by the wrist and they ran toward the front gate, which had also came down in the chaos. The scenery was a blur as they ran but Valandt sensed that something was not right. There was a huge rumble as Valandt and Astral reached the gate, out of the way of any debris now. Legia castle had crumbled to the foundations, Valandt dropped to the floor and tried to catch his breath. It was then that he noticed that the grass all around them was black. Valandt got to his feet and was in shock to find that all the grass in every direction was black. Trees had been burned to a crisp and there was no-one around and the sky was pitch black. Valandt slowly approached Astral who had tears in her eyes and put an arm on her shoulder. “My dream” Astral said “I saw that this would happen. I cant believe..” Astral was cut off by Valandt, who jumped and turned as he felt something touch his shoulder. Valandt felt fear as he turned to face whatever awaited him. When Valandt saw that it was Presto he was overcome with joy hugged him. Presto motioned to say something but it passed unheard as another deafening rumble came from where the castle once stood. Valandt instantly stepped in front of Astral and Presto, wanting to protect them and then went for his sword before realizing he had no weapon. Valandt then looked up and stood amazed as he saw that something now stood in place of Legia castle. Valandt then backed off slightly and waited for the dust to settle and see whatever it was. “Oh my” said Valandt as he was able to see what it was for the first time. “This cannot be good” said Presto, referring to the giant volcano that now stood in place of Legia castle.

Shadow watched the famous Hazajaro castle come into view and get closer with baited breath. The two horses pulled up to the castle and Enzaghe was the first to dismount, assisting Shadow down afterward. Calandria was the next to get off his horse and he quickly aided Zvire dismount. It was just after dawn as they arrived, the sun lighting up the sky for miles around. Shadow was confident of being able to elude Enzaghe and Calandria before heavy reinforcements arrived, how though, was a different question. Shadow and Zvire would have one night with Enzaghe and Calandria, both being heavily watched by their corresponding captor before being taken down into the dungeons of Hazajaro. Calandria had almost given up looking at Shadow, the sight of Shadow was enough to strike terror into anyone and it had struck terror into Calandria’s heart. While Zvire, Enzaghe and Calandria ate Shadow refused to eat with them, this concerned even Zvire. “Why do you not eat with us?” Zvire eventually turned and asked Shadow.
“I refuse to remove my mask” Shadow replied coldly, Zvire then turned to Enzaghe whom Shadow’s eyes were firmly locked on.
“Fine with me. If you starve that's not my problem” Enzaghe responded.
“Scum like you deserves a worse death than simply starving” Calandria chipped in, to which Shadow stood up and looked down at Calandria, Enzaghe then got in the middle of the two. “Enough” ordered Enzaghe, to Calandria, he then turned to Shadow. “Sit” Enzaghe then barked at Shadow, who gradually did as Enzaghe had ordered while maintaining a icy stare at Calandria. Outside it was mid afternoon and the sun was shining brightly outside, Enzaghe finished eating the last of his mean and stood up and walked to the window. Shadow looked around, now was the time to make a move, but neither Shadow nor Zvire had any weapons for Calandria had Zvire’s sword and Shadow hoped that Imunzo picked up the sword of Drakahor from the tree which Shadow had left it in. Shadow remembered seeing more weapons while riding with Enzaghe, who held them in a bag. Shadow’s eyes darted around the room, desperately searching for it, Shadow then found that standing right next to the bag was Enzaghe himself and felt that sinking feeling once more. Zvire meanwhile was feeling equally inadequate, troubled by Shadow’s disregard for eating and being held captive when he could be out looking for Orscyar filled Zvire with great frustration. There was silence all around Hazajaro castle now as all four warriors stood silent. It quickly became eerily quiet in the castle, the tales about Hazajaro castle being haunted did not help the general feeling that something bad was going to happen. Then it did. The ground began to shake, Shadow instantly went to make a move for Enzaghe's weapons bag but the constant trembling of the floor made Shadow’s progress across it difficult. “What the ?” exclaimed Enzaghe at the window as the sky instantly turned black. Shadow felt the need for a weapon now more than ever as the signs pointed toward a demon attack, although Shadow had never seen the sky turn pitch black in the blink of an eye before. Calandria and Zvire made their way to the window, even Shadow who was on the floor could see it now. There was a huge cloud of black mist heading for the castle. Shadow finally had Enzaghe’s weapons bag in reach but the second Shadow touched it Enzaghe turned and noticed. “I don't think so” said Enzaghe, pulling the bag with him as he walked away. Enzaghe and Calandria drew their swords and readied themselves for whatever the mist would bring with them. Zvire and Shadow turned and looked at Enzaghe. “Calandria” started Enzaghe “give that man his weapon back” he said against his better judgement. Calandria grudgingly obeyed, taking Zvire’s blade out of his belt and tossing it to Zvire. Enzaghe then opened his weapons bag and threw Shadow a sword, he then kicked his weapons bag underneath the table that they had previously been eating on. “This had better not be one of your tricks” Enzaghe called to Shadow moments before the mist enveloped the castle. The instant it impacted against the castle, the windows shattered and mist began to pour in. Shadow could see demons scurrying around inside the mist and prepared for a fight. The windows on the other side of the large dining room then smashed and through it the mist began to close in on the four warriors who found themselves surrounded at almost every angle. The mist then began to close in on the four warriors and the fighting began. Demons began to swoop at Shadow, who by now was almost tired of their constant attacks and sliced at them with almost careless ease. Calandria felt braver that he anticipated he would be and moved his sword about with lightning speed, killing twice as many demons as he was aiming for. Enzaghe, the experienced soldier stood firm and relied on his power and sense of what was around him. Enzaghe knew at all times in which direction the demon that was closest to him was and was able to pick them off with incredible accuracy. The number of demons began to drop, either they were giving up or the four were killing off almost the entire hoard that had entered the castle. Zvire stood on his toes and kept moving, making it difficult for the demons to even know where he was before he managed to destroy them. The last of the demons soon fell and all four began to catch their breath back in the centre of the room apart from Shadow who stood stationed at the window. “Don‘t even think about escaping” Enzaghe called, catching up to Shadow. In all the confusion it had only just occurred to Shadow that running away through the open window frame would be easy but Shadow was too focused on the sky. It did not return to its natural colours as it had done every other time it stayed black, this Shadow took as a bad sign. “What the hell was that ?” Calandria said out loud, not expecting an answer.
“That was the tremor of terror” a familiar voice made both Shadow and Zvire suddenly jump and turn. Orscyar stood at the back of the room with an evil smirk on his face. “It began at Legia castle and spread all through Legia, anyone not indoors will have most likely been ripped apart by the demons”. Shadow immediately thought of Imunzo and the sword of Drakahor which was in his possession and whether he was safe. Orscyar‘s smile widened “Goreoth‘s seal has been broken. There now stands a volcano in place of Legia castle, it is from this where he will make his return to Legia to reign evil once more”. Enzaghe’s brow lowered, he was not about to stand by and listen to a stranger spouting religious hearsay. “State your purpose or leave my presence” Enzaghe called at Orscyar, showing his dislike for him. Orscyar‘s smile disappeared as Enzaghe spoke “you shall be the first bear witness to the end of your people. The demons you have been fighting recently pale in comparison”. Orscyar closed his eyes and white ball of light began to form from the ground and float up until it was in line with his hands. Orscyar then began to chant in ancient Legian at a rate that would have the best scholars in Legia unable to keep up. “Behold the Zaokum” Orscyar shouted, his voice flowing with the power he was channelling. Shadow and Zvire moved in closer to Enzaghe which was closely followed by Calandria, knowing that they would be harder to beat as a group. Four spots on the floor one in front one at the back of the group with the other two to the right and left of them began to glow with a blindingly white light and something began to rise out of each. Zvire took a deep breath and prepared himself to take on the Zaokum. Shadow could see their shape was becoming clearer now, they were built almost twice the size of Shadow, the tallest of the group. The heads of the Zaokum were shaped like that of bulls, with impressively sized horns sticking out. The Zaokum finally finished forming with their bodies black like the demons before them with two huge diamond shaped red eyes in the middle of their bull shaped face and a few jagged red lines which joined to form a mouth. Orscyar was watching the four warriors‘ reactions as the Zaokum stood in their fullness and smiled as he could see their fear. Orscyar looked around and wasn’t happy that all four men had weapons and the Zaokum did not, a snap of his fingers later all four Zaokum had swords, each sword pitch black like its holder. Orscyar then shouted something in ancient Legian and the four Zaokum began their assault. Shadow wasted no time and went for the Zaokum standing nearest. The Zaokum sword smashed against Shadow’s, Shadow feeling the extreme power of the Zaokum’s blow and Shadow recoiled his arm consequently. Shadow’s left arm came across and Shadow rubbed the muscle that hurt and then stretched it out. Feeling the pain begin to numb, Shadow once again went for the Zaokum and began to thrust in several different places each time the Zaokum swiftly and effortlessly dodged Shadow’s blade. Meanwhile Calandria was having difficulties keeping up with the power of the attacking Zaokum. Calandria seemed diminutive in size compared to the huge Zaokum and was constantly on the defensive, having to move his sword quicker than he had ever done just to keep up with the fast pace of the Zaokum’s attacking blows. Enzaghe however was making sure all his blows were attacking and aggressive, managing to back the Zaokum into the corner and continuing to slam his sword down through the air with immense power. Zvire was also managing to overpower the Zaokum that was attacking him, using his quick footwork to circle the Zaokum and get blows in from all angle but however fast Zvire moved, the Zaokum blocked every one of Zvire’s blows with time to spare. Orscyar grew angry that the Zaokum had not finished off the group of four and waited impatiently for them to gain the upper hand. By now however Shadow was getting used to the incredible power of the Zaokum. Something caught Shadow’s eye and without considering the consequences Shadow dived across the room and tackled Enzaghe to the corner just about managing to save him from a Zaokum blade entering his stomach. Seeing Shadow’s sudden movement’s caused Zvire to lose concentration and then the Zaokum blade came through the air and entered Zvire’s shoulder. Zvire instantly fell to his knees in pain and groaned accordingly, there only stood now Calandria who was promptly lifted high into the air by a Zaokum and had a blade pointed directly at his throat. Orscyar smiled and got into the middle of the four Zaokum. “Ha!” he exclaimed “What pathetic warriors you are” Orscyar smirked and looked up at the Calandria, held up by a Zaokum. “However, because today is a day of celebration of Goreoth‘s return to power, I am going to let you live. Enjoy the rest of your life while it lasts” Orscyar paused “which wont be that long” he added before disappearing into nothing, followed by the Zaokum. Calandria fell to the stone floor with a crash and he moaned accordingly. Calandria found an helping hand in his face as he attempted to get up, Shadow’s. Enzaghe stood up and looked at Shadow, speechless to begin with. “I do not know everything that is going on” Enzaghe started at Shadow. “What I do know is, you killed the captain of the Legia army and for that the king shall punish you” Enzaghe was not finished. “However you have just now saved my life and for that I shall be eternally grateful”. Then something happened which caused Calandria to double back with shock, Enzaghe extended his hand and Shadow shook it.

Since leaving the sight of where Legia castle once stood everyone moved quicker, possibly for fear that if they stopped, the horror of what occurred would come back to them. Valandt made it to Minorell castle, a relative minnow compared with Legia castle but Valandt, Presto and Astral would only be stopping there to pick up supplies and a passage to Hazajaro. When Astral had awoken, she did so with a bloodcurdling scream. The last thing she remembered was pushing the wizard Presto out of the way of a demon attack, her subsequent slumber passed without event, although at one time she had felt the presence of Presto. Astral sat on a horse and waited while Valandt prepared the horses to leave for Hazajaro. Valandt had insisted they travel alone, wanting to get to Hazajaro with little fuss and knowing that a horseback trip would be made much quicker than a trip along in a carriage. Valandt loaded a bag of food onto his horse and then steadied the saddle. This was the first chance Valandt had to stop and think about what he had done and Valandt felt that he had let everyone down and was desperate to make up for it. “Of course” came a voice that caused Valandt to look up “I knew it. How did I not see it before?”. Valandt lowered his eyebrows at Presto who made his way out of Minorell castle, weighed down by three bags and a book in his hands. “What is it?” Valandt asked Presto who ran to meet up with Valandt.
“Here” said Presto, shoving a book in Valandt’s face. Valandt took a step back and focused on the drawing that Presto was pointing at, it was one of an axe. “I‘m not following you” said Valandt, not particularly in the mood for games but willing to hear Presto out.
“The axe of Rhjahor” started Presto, who took out a piece of paper from his pocket and then began to explain. “This is the second half of a letter written by the ancient wizard Lijitman” Presto began. “What is strange about it is that it is written in modern Legian” Valandt nodded as he verified this, he then snapped his fingers.
“I found the first half of the letter with Imunzo, it speaks of a sword that bares the crest of Goldrache, the golden dragon of Paix” explained Valandt.
“Yes well this half speaks of an axe, with the crest of Drakorache, the dark dragon of Goreoth. The axe takes over its holder, giving it feelings of hatred and making the owner do things that it wouldn't normally do. That’s the axe that you used to kill Schard with, that's why Kaiazal got angry when I suggested that you kill Schard with another weapon and more importantly that explains your strange actions recently”. Valandt stood open jawed as Presto explained, he then took another look at the drawing in the book, it definitely was the axe that Valandt had been carrying around recently. Valandt then jumped as he felt someone tap him on the back. “What is it!?” he shouted as he realized it was just one of the remaining castle guards, before the guard could reply Valandt put his hand on the guard’s shoulder and apologised. “Well, what was it that you wanted to tell me” Valandt asked, much calmer this time.
“There‘s something for you. It isn't from the castle and it wasn't brought by any of the survivors from Legia castle”. Valandt lowered his eyebrows, he was morbidly curious. “None of the guard‘s dare open it as there is a card on it, and the card directly has your name on it milord. Only the card is” the guard paused.
“Is what?” Valandt prompted.
“Is strange milord” said the guard under pressure.
“Strange?” said Valandt “Just show me the box” he then said and the guard took Valandt along a path and then Valandt saw that there was a sizeable box laying for him. “Some of the guards were looking at the card, they can‘t make any sense of it milord, I‘ll go and find it for you” said the guard and he then disappeared. Valandt approached the box with caution, he lowered his eyebrows and took a deep breath. The guard then came back with the sword but Valandt stopped him before he could speak. “Give me your sword” said Valandt, to which the guard obeyed. Valandt then walked up to the box and used the sword to pry the lid off. The guard approached the open box and recoiled in horror. The body of Gyraicus lay there, slashed and stabbed over and over again, his clothes bloody, his body pale. Valandt stood strong and resisted the urge to cry and took the card from the guard and read it aloud. “I’m not one to back out of a deal, here‘s your father. I never said id give you him back alive. The king is dead. Kaiazal”. Valandt then dropped the card and closed his eyes, tears then began to fall from them.